Are we etched in stone or just scratched in the sand?
by faithfxlly
Summary: "You know, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me". She didn't answer, she just kissed him. Finn and Rachel move to New York, the city where dreams come true. Finchel AU.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay, so this is my poor attempt at writing fanfiction. I love Glee so so so SO much, and when I got this idea I just had to do something with it. Just so you know, I've never written like this before, well to be honest I never write anything other than boring essays for school. And English is not my first language so I apologize for any grammatical errors etc etc. But yeah, I hope you like it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee related nor the songs used in this story.  
(The title is from Tightrope by The Stone Roses)**

**Prologue**

She got her letter in May. One of her dads must have placed it on her pillow before she came home from school. It just laid there, white against her pink bed. She dropped her bag on the floor, picked it up and opened it. Her hands were shaking. Slowly, the printed words sunk in.

"_Congratulations miss Berry, you have been accepted to the New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts. We look forward to seeing you later this year."_

She screamed, she just couldn't help it. Her dads ran into her room with worried looks on their faces.

"I got in!" she screamed. "I got in! I got in!"

She jumped around her room, laughing, and her dads soon joined in. They hugged her and kissed her and told her how proud they were. Their little daughter was growing up so fast, and she had just taken the most important step to her dream of becoming a star.

* * *

He got his letter in May. His mum was working the night shift that week so he was the one who emptied their mailbox after school. He hurried into the house and up to his room. A sudden panic filled his body. What if he didn't get in? What if he had messed it all up? What was he then supposed to do with his life? No, he pushed the negative thoughts away. He had nailed his interview. Determined, he opened the letter and read it fast.

"_Congratulations Mr Hudson, you have been accepted to New York University. We look forward to seeing you later this year"._

"YES! YES YES YES!" He was so relieved, and so _happy_. He couldn't wait to tell his mum. He hoped she would be proud of him and the path he had chosen.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Sorry for the bad update, I'm just really slow at writing in English since it isn't my first language. If you find any errors, especially grammatical ones, please let me know so I can improve my stories in the future! Thanks for reading!**

******Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee related nor the songs used in this story.  
(The title is from Tightrope by The Stone Roses)**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"What do you think? This one is pretty nice", Rachel Berry said looking at herself in the mirror.

"Are you kidding me? You look like a five year old!" Kurt said. "We're not in Lima anymore, we're in New York and that dress is not acceptable here."

Rachel rolled her eyes. Kurt Hummel was her best friend and she couldn't imagine life without him, but sometimes she wanted to stuff his mouth full of cotton so he'd be quiet. Instead, she just sighed and let Kurt drag her out of the store.

"Kurt, please, I want to go home", Rachel whined. "I don't need any new clothes".

"Rachel, I'm sorry, but your clothes are awful", Kurt said. "I won't let you go to NYADA dressed in a reindeer sweater and knee socks!"

"I can borrow a dress from Santana the first day", Rachel said. Kurt wanted to protest, but when he saw the tired look in his best friend's eyes, he nodded. To be honest, he was pretty tired himself.

They had just finished moving in to their new apartment they shared with Santana Lopez, their other best friend. Rachel and Kurt met in kindergarten, when they by mistake ended up next to each other during lunch. Kurt spotted Rachel's Broadway stickers on her lunch box and told her that Wicked was his favourite musical. They'd been inseparable ever since, doing everything together. In high school, Rachel and Kurt joined the glee club. It was through glee they first met Santana, and it was definitely not friendship at first sight. No, Santana was a popular cheerleader, and the members of the glee club were the popular kids' favourite victims. Santana must have thrown more slushies at Kurt than Rachel had watched Funny Girl, and that was a lot.

But everything changed during their junior year. Santana became head cheerleader, and one of the other girls on the squad, Sugar Motta, got insanely jealous. One night, she walked past the restaurant Breadstix and saw Santana through the window. She wasn't alone though, across the table sat another girl who Sugar hadn't seen before. The two girls laughed at something, and it was then Sugar got her evil idea. She took a photo of Santana and the other girl together, and posted it on Facebook. The photo spread rapidly, and the next day pretty much everyone at the William McKinley high school had seen it.

"Hey, Santana! I didn't know you played for the other team!"

"Did you have a good night yesterday, Lopez? Or should I call you Lezpez?"

At first, Santana didn't care about the comments. But when she realized her usual cold, threatening attitude didn't scare people away anymore, she panicked. It all became too much when Jacob Ben Israel, _Jewfro of all people_, threw a slushie in her face. So Santana fled to the girls' bathroom. It was there Rachel found her, crying in a booth. She comforted the sad girl and told Santana all about her dads. The rest is history. Rachel and Kurt's duo soon became a trio, after a while the rumours about Santana died out and she made her return as McKinley's ice queen. Her friendship with Kurt and Rachel was still going strong though, so strong they didn't see any more slushies during their high school lives.

Now, the three friends lived in New York together. Kurt and Rachel were going to study musical theatre at NYADA and Santana had chosen law at NYU. They couldn't be happier. Well, except Rachel. Ever since Brody Weston had dumped her in front of the entire school their sophomore year, she had waited for her true love to find her. Although she thought of herself as a strong, independent woman who didn't need a man to stand in the way of her Broadway dreams, Rachel had to admit something (someone) was missing. Kurt had been together with Blaine since their sophomore year and Santana had a new date every weekend. Rachel Berry had no one.

When she and Kurt later arrived at their loft and found Santana in the living room (or the space they called the living room, the loft didn't have any walls except for the bathroom) watching TV. Kurt joined her, but Rachel wasn't in the mood. She opened the pink curtain which hid her bedroom and laid down on her bed with a heavy sigh. Hopefully New York, the city where dreams come true, could help her find what she was looking for.

* * *

Finn Hudson groaned. He read the address again, and sure enough, he was going to share a student apartment with some guy named Noah Puckerman, _on the fifth floor in a building with no elevator. _Finn sighed, grabbed the first box out of three and started carrying it up the endless stairs.

"Fuck my life", he muttered on the third floor. He didn't even know he owned so much stuff. Finally, he reached the fifth floor and apartment 505. He opened the door, without putting the heavy box down, and was just going to quietly slip in so he didn't wake up his new roommate when he dropped it. The box landed with a loud crash and Finn cursed loudly.

"Hey, what's going on?" He heard someone say. Before Finn could answer, a guy with a mohawk rounded the corner and eyed him suspiciously.

"Uhm… Are you Noah?" Finn asked and cringed at how nervous he sounded.

"Yeah, unfortunately", the guy said. "Call me Puck, everyone else does".

"Okay", Finn said, a bit awkward. "I'm Finn by the way, Finn Hudson".

"Ahhh, you're the new guy! Welcome to my famous bachelor pad, Hudson", Puck smirked. "You don't look too bad, are you single?"

Finn stared at him. "Yeah, I am", he managed to choke out.

"Awesome!" Puck said. Then he noticed how terrified Finn looked. "Relax Hudson, I'm not gay. I just need a good looking wingman who can help me get laid. We're going to be NYU's sex sharks. Come on, I'll help you with the rest of your stuff".

Finn was a bit shocked at how forward his new roommate was, so he just nodded and followed Puck outside.

It turns out that he and Puck are like long lost brothers. They talk, joke and laugh like they've known each other forever. During their first day together, Finn learned that Puck is a sophomore, his major is training theory and he's also one of the stars in NYU's football team. He was born and raised in California and almost started a pool cleaning business instead of going to college, but when he got a football scholarship he changed his mind. Finn then told him about his own football carrier that ended when he graduated high school a few months earlier.

"I'm from a small town in Ohio", he began. "I was the quarterback and the most popular guy in school. I dated the head cheerleader. We were crowned prom king and queen. People always assumed I was one of those big, tough guys, the ones who have their best time in high school. But no one knew what kind of person I really was. I sang in the shower and played the drums every day. My true passion is music, and I love children, so my major is music education. You could probably guess everyone's reactions, but at least my mum is proud of me". Finn was surprised at how much he revealed about himself. He usually didn't talk that much, but he liked Puck and Puck seemed to like him.

"Damn, Hudson!" Puck said when Finn had finished his story. "You've got the looks _and _the talent. The ladies will be lining up for you!"

Finn couldn't help but blush. He knew people found him attractive, but he didn't know why. Whenever he looked in a mirror the only thing he could see was a giant with a baby face. His self-confidence didn't improve when Quinn Fabray, his ex, dumped him right after graduation. They'd been together since their freshman year and four years later, she admitted that she'd used him to gain social status and be crowned prom queen. After that disaster he'd swore to stay away from girls, but now he wasn't sure...

"Maybe", he said. "Let's go out and try our luck".

"Good idea, man, good idea", Puck grinned and together they headed out into the night.

Finn smiled to himself. Yeah, he was definitely ready to start his new life in The Big Apple.


End file.
